A text or reference book which reaches a sixth edition has either some singular merit or no competition. The continued success of this book is therefore something of a puzzle. In the latest edition the authors have called on 11 contributors, including, among others, John Louis, W. R. Best, and L. R. Limarzi for a generally good review of hematology, C. W. Muehlberger for a brief description of toxicology, M. P. Turner and R. A. Morrissey for a discussion of bacteriological and virological procedures, and D. L. Tabern for a presentation of isotopic techniques in clinical medicine.

Disturbing inconsistencies are threaded throughout the book. At one point the impression is created that radioisotopes are routinely suitable as diagnostic tools, yet at another point flame photometry is dismissed in a rather offhand manner. Blood cell counting is briefly mentioned in a discussion of instrumentations, but not even a cross-reference appears in